If you have not already done so , you may want to watch What Is Causing Your Knee Pain? Patellofemoral Pain Syndrome or Kneecap Pain? How to tell? This is a six-week program of strengthening exercises designed to help stop kneecap pain. Weeks 1 & 2: 1. Lie on your back. Straight leg raises (3 sets of 10). 2. Isometric Quadriceps with knee bent to 90 degrees (2 sets of 10- 3 second hold) 3. Mini squats to 40-degree knee bend. 4 sets of 10. 4. Hip Abduction (side lying) 2 x 15. 10-second hold. 5. Clamshell with resistance band 2 x 15 10 second hold. 6. Fire Hydrants 2 x 15 10-second hold. Weeks 3 & 4: 1. Wall Slide 0 to 60 degrees (3 sets of 10). Strengthening Exercises to Help Sore Kneecap Pain (Patellofemoral Pain Syndrome) 4 2. Step up/down 8 inch (3 sets of 5) 3. Lunge to 45 degrees (3 sets of 10) 4. Pelvic Drop (2 sets of 15, 10 sec hold) (On Step) Weeks 5 & 6 1. Single leg stance (3 x 30 sec) Open/closed eyes on mat. 2. Walking- progressive increase 3. Running- progressive increase Check out the full Knee Pain Relief Program series of videos, along with downloadable guide sheets, here: https://www.bobandbrad.com/health-programs/knee-pain-relief-program

This article is a transcribed, edited summary of a video Bob and Brad recorded in July 2024. For the original video, go to https://youtu.be/ElhfFWVYC9g Mike: Do you suffer from hip bursitis and are not sure where to begin? Brad: Well, today we're going to cover four little-known secrets to help you recover from this as well as get back to moving better, walking straight again. Mike: So, to understand hip bursitis, we're going to go into a little bit of an anatomy lesson here. So here we have the femur bone. And this landmark, this bony area here, is known as the greater trochanter. Mike: Typically, throughout the body, on bony landmarks, we have things called a bursa. They're like a fluid-filled sac. And what they help do is reduce friction from muscles or tendons that go over these bony prominences. Brad: Right, and I'll demonstrate that with this piece of tape. It may be like the IT band ligaments that actually go over this bony prominence. And again, if while you're walking, moving, it tendencies to to glide over that. And if you don't have the bursa in there, that will definitely get inflamed, irritated, and wear out. So what the key is, is that the bursa sac actually has a lot of nerve endings, and when it gets inflamed, it becomes very tender. And as this moves over that bursa sac pain, pain, pain, we need to eliminate, get rid of the stress on this area, so the bursa is back to functioning without pain. Mike: So some of the causes of this increased friction on the area are maybe you increased how much activity you're doing, walking, running, exercising, etc. Sometimes it's just that. Other times, you are compensating with your muscles; certain muscles are engaging, and others are weak. So what we're going to do is go through some stretches and some strengthening exercises to help alleviate these issues you may be having. Brad: Now we would like to say we figured out which muscles you need to strengthen and stretch, but it's not true. It actually comes from a physical therapist named Rick Olderman . He has a whole book. He explains this and the muscle, the stretches, and the strengthening exercises, which are the four we mentioned. We'll go through them clearly and very shortly. Go ahead, Mike. Mike: So, oftentimes when it comes to hip bursitis, on most people, their hip flexor muscles often become tight and overused. These muscles help flex your hip, help with walking, running forward, and oftentimes, your glutes become weak. So first, what we want to do is stretch these hip flexors out with the stretch we're going to show you now. Brad: Yes, and then we'll go to the glute and how to counteract that. So the two exercises complement each other. Mike: So there are many ways to stretch your hip flexor muscles; however, this way works for most people. So you need to lie down on a firm surface of sorts. If your bed is firm, you can use a countertop, kitchen table, or whatever you have. And you're going to begin by bringing both your knees to your chest. The closer my buttocks are to the edge of the table, the more stretch I will feel in my hip flexors. I'm going to lower my left one down first. And once I get down here, I'm going to try to bend it to 90 degrees. If you're tight like me, you probably can't get a 90-degree bend. And then make sure to pull the opposite knee towards your chest. You can see once I do that, my hip flexor tightness will pull up a bit. Try to push it down. Hold this roughly for 30 seconds. Also, make sure your leg doesn't drift out to the side. If you're tight, try to keep it in a direct straight line. Breathe throughout it. Once you do one side, reset the back, both knees to chest, and then drop the other side. You may notice one side is much tighter than the other. Maybe spend a little bit extra time on that side. Brad: Can you go back to the first stretch? Yeah, if we're looking at this side, I just wanted to clarify if it wasn't clear. The lower the knee goes, the better the flexibility in the hip flexors. However, when the foot pulls underneath here, it actually addresses one muscle that usually doesn't get addressed, and that's the rectus femoris, which goes from the patella of the knee all the way up to the pelvis. Brad: That's important. Now, you might have the knee go down this far on one side, and when the other one goes down, we'll just look at this, and let's say it only drops to here. Obviously, this is the tighter hip flexor. Spend more time on the tight side, but still address the other side, so you get some maintenance. Mike: Try to do two to three sets on each leg for roughly 30 seconds. You could do it numerous times a day as long as it feels good. Brad: Alright, the second stretch is very nice. It actually complements the first stretch, where we stretched out the hip flexors. Now, we're going to do the posterior or the back side of the hip, as well as the SI joint and low back in the hip extensors. So nice stretch. It also helps with low back pain, SI joint sacral iliac, as well as sciatica. Go ahead, Mike. We call it the all four stretch. Mike: So this is kindly known as a child's pose in yoga as well. So what we're going to do is be on all fours, hands and knees. I'm going to keep my hands in place and I'm going to slowly sit my butt towards my heels. Now, if you're tight and you have to stop here, it's perfectly fine. Just sit here for 30 seconds or so and then come back up. Over time, try to get your buttocks to touch your heels. Mike: Notice I have my knees wider apart. This makes it easier for me to sit on my heels. Once I'm down here, I'm going to breathe and relax. Try to hold for 30 seconds. If you don't feel much of a stretch in your back and you want to go more, simply reach forward a little more. Again, breathe throughout and then come back up. You're going to do that five to 10 times, hold for 15 to 30 seconds when you're sitting down in the low position. Brad: And another benefit of the stretch, it actually helps the shoulder blade as well as the shoulder posture. So you'll feel that stretch as well. This next exercise specifically addresses the glute maximus muscle. Mike did talk about it becoming weak, which is common. This will help strengthen it and also position the hip in the right position. It complements the stretch of the hip flexor exercise we did initially. Go ahead, Mike. Mike: So to do this, you need to be on all fours on your elbows, preferably. We will show a standing version here in a minute if you can't get into this position. So if I'm strengthening my left one, I'm going to bring it up. I'm not going to go all the way up or all the way down. You are going to pick a range kind of in the middle. This will keep the glutes activated the entire time. And you're just going to do little oscillating movements. Shoot for 15 to 30 repetitions. If you're not feeling much activation of your glutes, say you're feeling it in your hamstrings more, simply turn your foot in like this, and this'll help engage the glute a little more. Again, do 15, 30 repetitions on one side. Make sure to switch it and do it on the other side. Brad: All right. And obviously, this is a good exercise to do right after the all fours stretch because you're already in that position. Makes it more efficient. Alright, if that is not very comfortable as far as getting on all fours in your hands and knees, you can do this standing. Go to a countertop, a firm surface about waist level, hands on the countertop or whichever you're using, we're going to work the right side, bend the knee at 90 degrees. It's not way up like this or down, at 90 degrees. Keep it there. And then we're going to simply do the exact same motion. We're not doing large motions. Again, it's going to be short motions, about six to 12 inches, repeatedly doing them 15 to 30 seconds or 15 to 30 repetitions. And you can do the same thing if you rotate the foot down like this and work it like this, you get a little better emphasis on that glute maximus, and you will feel it. Same repetitions over time. Mike: If that becomes easy and you want to advance it, you can use a cuff weight, but you're going to place it on your thigh since that'll be the best angle for resistance when you're performing the exercise. Brad: There you go. The fourth and final exercise is gluteal walking. This one, you're going to find a little strange, but it does work. And the whole idea of it is to get your glute maximus to actually work properly in time with your hip. So the cadence of how you walk takes stress away from that greater trochanter and the bursitis. Again, it's a little strange, but it works, and it's not hard to do. Mike: So with most walking people, if they heel strike, this will put more impact forces through your joints, from your ankle, knee, hip, and even into your lower back. So what we want to do is walk more on our forefoot, land this way, versus with the foot way out in front of us in a heel strike. Mike: For beginners, we commonly recommend just going into your house, either in slippers or barefoot. If you happen to have zero-drop minimalist-type shoes, certainly wear those. But in your house, what you're going to do to begin is actually kind of go up on your toes if you're able to, and then just take little walks around the house, maybe 10 to 20 feet in distance. This will help engage your gluten muscles. Now, to begin, walk normally, how you normally walk. Place your hands on your butts. This is why we say do it in your house, and feel how your glutes are engaging, how much they're contracting. Now try to go up on your toes, tippy-toe walking. You should notice a significant difference in how much contraction you're getting in your glute muscles. This is a good sign, meaning your glutes are kicking in and firing, taking pressure off of your hip joint. Mike: So when you start walking outside, eventually over time, start slow, maybe walk a few blocks, and then progress over time. You're going to have to shorten your step length, meaning how far you step out. It'll feel a little awkward at first because you've been walking the same way most of your life. So just take it slow, and over time it should start to feel better. Brad: Yeah, and you don't exaggerate it and walk around the block on your tiptoes. That was to start out to get that feeling. Mike: Yes. Brad: When you have that slight flexion in your knee, four-foot contact, that really helps minimize stress throughout all the joints and takes that stress through the muscles, not the joints. Alright, if you want to get a better explanation right from Rick Olderman, go to rickolderman.com, is that correct? Mike: Yes. And you can check out his online programs there or his books, and you'll get a much more in-depth explanation of all this. If you want to check out another video on how to stop hip bursitis pain, watch " STOP Hip Bursitis Pain Without Seeing A Dr or Having Injection. " This video has Bob in it, so you'll probably like it more. Brad: There you go. Have a good day. Be careful, and walk well. 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Affiliate Disclaimer: Keep in mind that we may receive commissions when you click our links and make purchases. However, this does not impact our reviews and comparisons. We are highly selective in our products and try our best to keep things fair and balanced to help you make the best choice for you.

This article is a transcribed, edited summary of a video Bob and Brad recorded in July 2024. For the original video, go to https://youtu.be/9FuTuUGOJd4 Brad: Oh man, these hips are stiff. Mike: Many people like Brad complain about stiff hips, especially after sitting for too long, and when they first get up and start walking. Brad: So you're in luck, we're going to show you one stretch and two strengthening exercises to get those hips moving, more flexible, and feeling better, so you don't have that hip pain. Alright, so first let's talk about hip movement and the benefits we get from that and association with stiffness and pain. Mike: So movement actually stimulates synovial fluid production in all your joints, but if you're moving the hip joints specifically, that can help lubricate the area and loosen things up. Brad: It also increases the circulation in the muscles in the area, which is great for that. What's the next thing, Mike? Mike: It brings in blood flow to the region, especially the muscles, and it can actually help release endorphins, which are a feel-good hormone. Brad: Yeah, didn't I mention the blood flow already? Mike: I don't know. Brad: All right, so let's talk about those stiff hips and what we can do in regards to movements to make these hips feel better. Mike: So when you actually move around a joint, what happens is synovial fluid starts producing and moving, lubricating the joint itself. So if we get the hip joint moving, lubricated, it's going to be less painful and stiff. Brad: And also the movement gets the muscles moving and increases circulation, which is a big key to feeling better and moving better. Mike: So it can actually help improve your mobility and flexibility as well, which is very important if your hips are feeling stiff, and it also releases endorphins, just moving around, a feel-good hormone, it's going to perk you up, and make your hips all loosey goosey. Brad: And the great thing about this is that a simple exercise is that you do not have to be a really active person. If you're older or you have some weakness involved, you will be able to do these. They're seated position, all of them are actually. Mike: And one's lying down too. Brad: Okay, now these exercises are going to cover the range of motion in the hip and all the planes, which in the therapy world, we make sure we cover all the motions needed to get you moving. The first one is... Mike: A hook, lying or in a seated position, simply bring your legs out to the side and then back in. In the therapy world, we call the laying down one a clamshell exercise. So I'm just letting both hips drop out to the side. Go at what range of motion is comfortable for you if you're kind of stiff? Typically, after doing more repetitions, they'll start to limber up a little bit. Brad: That's right, and in the seated position, depending on how stiff you are, you can actually use your hands to assist in getting started after a few repetitions. Do it without the assist. If it's painful and you do have arthritis, just relax, allow your arms to help work through that. Brad: We want to get it moving with repetition; it should feel better. Then we'll go to the second one. Mike: Now, when it comes to doing this in bed, if your feet are closer to your buttocks, it's going to be a little more aggressive, so if this doesn't feel as good, you can certainly put your feet a little further away. This is less aggressive. Brad: There you go. Okay, number two, before we get into it, I want to emphasize we're not trying to do aggressive strengthening. It's a more passive range of motion. So, what you can do for the hip flexion up and down, watch my feet. I'm just going to move the hip by going up on my toes. So the muscles down by my feet are actually doing the movement. This is not a significant amount of movement, but if you've got hip pain, you've got some severe arthritis; this is plenty, and you'll know it. If they're feeling way too easy and you want more, simply take your hands, grasp around right above the knee, and lift up. Let the leg relax, move that joint. Brad: Use your arms to do the work. Mike, do you have any suggestions for that position? Mike: Now, in the lying down position, going up on your toes isn't going to do a whole lot, so you're going to have to grab your leg. If you can't reach it, you can certainly grab a belt. If Brad would be so kind as to hand me one. Brad: Well, I'll think about it. I'll use a towel. Actually, I really think a towel is a little more comfortable, but a belt around your thigh will work great. Mike: So you can just grab onto the towel, belt, whatever you have, and then just pull up with your arms. Again, I'm letting my leg basically go limp and just pulling it, moving it through passive range of motion. Brad: All right. Mike: Now, the last activity here is actually a stretch. We're going to stretch the hip flexors, which are in front of the hip muscles. So when it comes to doing this in bed, this is a very passive way to do it, especially if you have stiff hips, is to just scoot towards the edge of your bed. Make sure you don't fall off, and just slowly lower your leg down. If you're really tight, you may be way up, but try to let gravity just pull your foot down to the floor, and you should feel a nice little stretch. If you feel comfortable, want to get aggressive, you can certainly bend your knee a bit, but you don't have to just do what works for you. When it comes to stretching, typically hold for 15 to 30 seconds and do each side. Brad: And it's really important that you relax when you're doing this stretch so that the muscles do stretch out and get where they want to be. It's going to help that joint as well. If you're in a seated position, this one's a little more aggressive or awkward in a way. If you're in a chair, you're gonna have to have one that probably doesn't have an armrest, because it might get in the way. You can try it, but we simply bring the leg out to the side of the leg of the chair, let it go down. Or you can turn sideways, and that's where not having an armrest is handy. And then let it go down like this. And then back as far as you want. Now, if you learn forward, you're not going to get an aggressive hip stretch. This is okay if that works for you, but you want to try to get your shoulders up tall and get that hip to stretch. The further you bring the leg back and the higher you go with your shoulders, the more aggressive the stretch. Brad: Now this is even more aggressive. Only some people will be able to do this. It's a little awkward, but if you can grab your pant leg or around your ankle and pull up here, that even stretches the rectus femoris, which is a long muscle that crosses the knee. It is important and it's helpful if you can do that, but be careful. It feels awkward, you don't feel stable, don't worry about it. This will be more than adequate. Brad: Alright, now go through all of these. If any of them create pain or they're not comfortable, do not do them. Just do the ones that feel good and allow that hip to stretch. After you're done, it should continue to feel good. Now we do have another video that relates to this that you may want to watch as well, Mike. Mike: Check out, " Everyone with Hip Pain Should Try This One Certain Thing! " Now, this video, if these seem too easy for you, maybe a little step up in advancing to try to get your hip pain fixed. Brad: Alright, have a good day and keep your hips moving. 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Affiliate Disclaimer: Keep in mind that we may receive commissions when you click our links and make purchases. However, this does not impact our reviews and comparisons. We are highly selective in our products and try our best to keep things fair and balanced to help you make the best choice for you.

If you have not already done so, you may want to watch What is Causing Your Knee Pain? Patellofemoral Pain Syndrome or Kneecap Pain? How to tell? These 5 stretches are designed to help most types of patellofemoral pain: 1. Hamstring stretch. Seated or supine. 3 x 30 seconds. Tight hamstrings can place more backward force on the knee, causing pressure to increase between the kneecap and the thigh bone. 2. Iliotibial (IT) Band Stretch. 3 x 30 seconds. A tight IT band can place an outside force on the kneecap and cause the lower leg bone to turn in. Lead to the kneecap being out of position. 3. Quadricep Stretch: 3 x 30 seconds. Tight quadricep muscles can increase the pressure on the kneecap. 4. Calf Muscles: 3 x 30 seconds. Tight calf muscles can lead to compensation by the foot (foot pronation - flat), which can increase the forces on the kneecap. a. Stretch the kneecap. Do not perform if you have loose ligaments or are hypermobile. Most often, tight toward the outside direction of the knee. May use a massage gun or foam roller. Check out the full Knee Pain Relief Program series of videos, along with downloadable guide sheets, here: https://www.bobandbrad.com/health-programs/knee-pain-relief-program

This article is a transcribed, edited summary of a video Bob and Brad recorded in August 2024. For the original video, go to https://youtu.be/SdqG00PCl0Y Mike: Are your hands feeling stiff, achy, or not just working the way they should? Brad: Well, we're going to show you our top 10 favorite tips that are going to help your hands feel better, move better, and have a much better day. Mike: Now, these 10 tips can help if you have a recent hand injury, maybe you had surgery, or perhaps you have arthritis. You can apply one or all 10 to see if they help you. Brad: Yeah, I think, personally, I've had a little bit of everything, and I've used many of these tips. I have some favorite ones we'll share. Mike: Tip number one is to actually warm up your hands. Now, if you just acutely injured your hand yesterday and it's swollen, you probably don't want to use heat right now. But once the swelling goes down, or maybe specifically if you have arthritis, heat can really help. Something you can try is just these handheld hand warmers . You can find them online pretty much anywhere nowadays, and they work pretty well. Brad: Absolutely. You can also simply go to the kitchen and wash some dishes in some warm water. It works well, gets them moving, and you get something done. Mike: Another option, specifically if it's winter time, they do sell heated gloves now as a good option. I know personally I have some family members who really benefit from wearing those during winter for circulation reasons, as well as stiff finger joints. Brad: Now, actually this segues right into a contrast bath, which seems a little weird, but what you can do is in the kitchen sink, fill up one sink with cold water, one sink with warm water, and you put your hands in the warm water for one minute, and then you go to the cold water. And actually, some people respond very well to this. Mike: So, you alternate doing that roughly five minutes. You can go longer than you want, but sometimes just having the nice warm and the cold can help with the blood flow in the area. Circulation just limbers those joints right up. The next option is some type of topical treatment or lotion. There are tons of brands that will work for this. Typically, you want something that either has menthol in it, like what we have with the Holy Cowabunga cream , or you can also use something with capsaicin in it, which is ironically found in peppers. Brad: Yeah, capsaicin. Yeah, we were just discussing that. Now, the next thing is a mechanical thing. In your house, if you have round doorknobs and you're finding it difficult to grab and rotate without pain, simply get a doorknob that is a lever. And actually, I've done that on the house to enter. I have a lever instead of a round one. And if I got my hands full when I'm taking the groceries in. Mike: Yeah. Brad: I can simply lift up with my knee and push that lever and open it up. So, you know, use your knee instead of your hands. Mike: We'll make a video of that in the future. Brad: I do not recommend that for people, though, but that's what I do. Mike: It's a good option. Okay, the fifth option of something can try is to use a splint or a brace of sorts. This might be handy, specifically when you're sleeping. Commonly, when people sleep, their wrist might get flexed, and they might form a knuckle, and then they struggle to open it up in the morning, and it's stiff. Just having some type of brace like this will keep your hand in a nice neutral position when you're sleeping. Brad: Right. And conversely, you may want to brace your hand when you're doing some work that takes a lot of labor with your hands to support. This tape I'm using is really nice. It's called Coban . It does not stick to your skin. But as you can see, I'm bracing my wrist. It does stick to itself really well, and you can simply pull it like that. Brad: And there, I have a nice wrist brace. We can go up into the hand or the individual fingers with this product. Mike: You have numerous color options with this stuff. Brad: Yeah, it's a six-pack. Mike: Now, tip number six is to take advantage of electric appliances. We're not talking about a washing machine and stove here. We're talking about things like can openers or even scissors. Getting electronic forms can really take the strain off your hands and joints, relieving pressure and issues you may be having. Brad: Right? Scissors, that's a real big one on my thumb. It just bothers me. So, if you can just grab, push a button, much easier, and they work really well. Mike: Now, these last four tips are actually going to be exercises and stretches. You may have some limitations, but just do what you can with them. Brad: Right, the first one is flexion, or bringing your hands into a fist. Now, you may find that you cannot do a full fist. This is me in the morning when I'm stiff, which I've been doing pretty good in the last year. And actually squeeze that hand together and make a complete fist if tolerated. If you get severe pain with it, don't go so hard. Make sure you do it as tolerated. Be gentle. Take your time. Brad: And then full extension. Mike: The opposite direction. So, this is tip number eight. So, opening your hand up. Some people can make a fist, but they can't extend back. Simply go as far as you comfortably can. Take your other hand, if possible, and try to push it open more. With arthritis, you may have it in both hands. But obviously, if you just had an injury to one hand, use your good hand to help out. Brad: That's right. I call this the mirror stretch because it's like your hand is on a mirror and you just push, and you can stretch both hands and wrists at the same time. That brings us right into the tabletop exercise. Mike: Tip number nine is going to be a handful of exercises here. I actually watched Bob and Brad's video and did all these for my own hand recovery after I broke it once I had surgery. Brad: Yep, this works very well. This is the tabletop, just moving the joints right at the big knuckles there. Brad: Okay, the next one is the claw. Mike: So, it's not a full closed fist, it's just making a claw like this, like you're doing a bear claw or something. Not the donut, but a claw, open and extending. You can do five to 10 repetitions. Mike: The next two go together. It's called abduction and adduction. Adduction is bringing all your fingers together. Abduction is fingers apart. You simply open up and close. Do 10 of those. Brad: That's right. Yeah, five to 10 of all these is typically good. Use good judgment on it. Don't do it for half an hour. A few minutes at the most. Then we can go to the individual joints of each finger, depending on which joint is stiff. Because sometimes, it is just one joint on a finger or a few different fingers, and you simply work each joint individually. Works quite well. Mike: Now, the last tip is technically called a joint mobilization. We're going to just focus on the wrist here for this one. Brad, do you want to show how to do this? Brad: Yeah, it works very well. This is a hand I'm going to mobilize. Relax it. Completely relax. If you rest it on the table or a pillow on your lap, and is actually a little better, simply grab with this hand here. Now, can we get a close-up of the wrist? Now, I'm going to pull, and you can actually see if we get close enough that I'm distracting or pulling apart the joint just a little bit. And then watch what happens when I stabilize the hand, but rotate my wrist. Then you get some nice wrist mobilization. Brad: After you do that, work some circles on that wrist. You can go up and down. Ah, there we go. After this, my hands are feeling much better. Yeah, let's go. Mike: Now, if you're still having some hand pain or discomfort and want to find some more stretches or exercises, you can check out our video,  " Pain Relief For Wrist, Hand & Fingers, 7 Exercises/Treatments ." Brad: There you go. It's us again. So, enjoy the day, and I'm sure you're going to find at least two or three of these helpful for your fingers, hands, and or wrist. For this week’s Giveaway, visit :  https://bobandbrad.com/giveaways Bob and Brad’s Products Pain Management: A2 Pro Massage Gun A7 Pro Massage Gun with Heat and Cold Therapy Back Massager C2 Massage Gun (US) C2 Pro Massage Gun with Heat and Cold Therapy C2 Plus Massage Gun with Heat C2 Max Massage Gun with Metal Head D5 Pro Massage Gun D6 Pro Massage Gun D6 Plus Massage Gun with Heated Head D6 Pro Max Massage Gun with Metal Head EyeOasis 2 Eye Massager EyeOasis 2 Plus Eye Massager with Remote EyeOasis 3 Eye Massager Eye Massager with Heating and Cooling EZBack Massager   EZBack Massager With Remote Fit Glide Foot Massager G100 Pro Vibration Therapy Massager Hand Massager HandSpa Pro Hand Massager Holy Cowabunga Cream   iNeck Pro Neck and Shoulder Massager Knee Glide   Lite Foot Massager M7 Plus Mini Massage Gun with Heat Therapy Posture Pad Q2 Mini Massage Gun (US) Q2 Pro Massage Gun with Heat and Cold Head Q2 Plus Mini Massage Gun  Q2 Max Massage Gun with Metal Head sWAVE Massage Gun with Belt T2 Massage Gun  T2 Pro Massage Gun with Heat and Cold Head T2 Pro Max Massage Gun with Metal Head TheraPanel 4 -Headed Massage Gun Weighted Heating Pad for Back Weighted Heating Pad For Neck and Shoulders Weighted Heating Pad-Long X6 Massage Gun with Stainless Steel Head X6 Pro Max Massage with Heat-Cold and Metal Head Fitness: Hanging Handles​ Hand Grip Strengthener Kit   Pull Up System Resistance Bands​   Wall Anchor​ Stretching: Booyah Stik   Stretch Strap Bob & Brad Amazon Store   and other products Bob and Brad Love Check out our shirts, mugs, bags, and more in our Bob and Brad merchandise shop Medical Disclaimer: All information, content, and material on this website are for informational purposes only and are not intended to serve as a substitute for the consultation, diagnosis, and/or medical treatment of a qualified physician or healthcare provider. Affiliate Disclaimer: Keep in mind that we may receive commissions when you click our links and make purchases. However, this does not impact our reviews and comparisons. We are highly selective in our products and try our best to keep things fair and balanced to help you make the best choice for you.

This article is a transcribed, edited summary of a video Bob and Brad recorded in July 2024. For the original video, go to https://youtu.be/kv1XytFlMro Brad: Oh, oh, cramp, cramp, cramp! What do I do? Mike: We're going to show you how to resolve night cramps so they don't terrorize your sleep. Brad: It's a problem, and a lot of people have them, and they are painful. Mike: So, we're going to show you how to stop these night cramps pretty quickly. Brad: That's right, it's really not that hard, we're going to show you and you're going to be able to do them at home as soon as we get done. Mike: And we have two non-traditional ways at the end that Brad would like to talk about. Brad: Why do you say it like that? They're actually legitimate, at least one of them is; we'll talk about that at the end. All right, a little brief explanation about a cramp and what happens, and why they hurt so much. We're looking at Mike's calf muscle. Can you actually flex it? Brad: Now you can see it's all tightened up. This is maximal flexion of this muscle, actually of the joint, but the muscle's tightening up, it's going into tetany. In other words, it's cramping as tightly as it can go. That is the painful part, and you really need to know how to loosen it, and it's simple. What we need to do is stretch that muscle out. Then the cramp will go away. So that's what we're going to show you for leg cramps because they're the most common cramps in bed, and the most common muscles are the calf muscle and the hamstring. We will cover those in detail. First, we're going to address hamstring cramps. They're very common, and Mike is lying as if he's in bed. Now, if you do experience hamstring cramps at night, I strongly encourage you to practice this and do it before you go to bed. Number one, you're going to know what to do when you wake up with a cramp, to eliminate it. And if you stretch these muscles before you go to sleep, practicing it, the chances of getting a cramp are a little bit less. That's my experience in the clinic anyway. Go ahead, Mike. What we're going to do, this muscle is cramping, it's pulling, and flexing the knee joint. So he's gonna grab underneath the knee with both hands, and he's going to push or bring this leg up that stretches the hamstring group of muscles. There are three muscles there. It stretches them out, and once they get stretched out, the cramp goes away. Brad: Now, if you're doing this and you're having a hard time, it's cramping hard. You might be able to use this leg and help push up. There you go, how are you feeling, Mike? Mike: I'm feeling crampy. Brad: This is a good thing, and it's a good muscle group to stretch regardless. So make sure you practice this before you go to sleep, so you know how to do it when it happens in the middle of the night. You know if there is someone, a family member, anybody available, actually what I've done with patients when they cramp, I'll just actually help them out and stretch, and that really makes a big difference. Brad: That pain will go right down once the muscle is stretched. Now, if you have been to jump out of the bed and your hammie's all tight and there's a chair to sit on, it's a little easier. Sometimes you push your leg out in front of you, maybe with your hand or your foot, and then you stretch here, you lean forward, and that will stretch that hamstring out and make it go away. Brad: You could stretch before you go to bed as well. If you happen to have an ottoman or a stool or another chair, you could stretch like this as well. Brad: Stretch those hamstrings. Don't try to bend your back too much. Keep the back straight. It's not a big deal for this situation, there we go. Nice stretch, feels good one way or the other. Alright, should we go on to the next? Calfs, calf cramps, oh, you can practice the stretch lying down to alleviate the cramp, or we're going to show you an option that actually works better, a little easier if you're able to get up and stand on the floor and use body weight to get it off. So, Mike, do you want to show them how they can get? Now, if you get a cramp in your calf, what's going to happen? Your toes are going to point down as a result of the calf muscle tightening. So the goal is to get the ankle to go up like that. Brad: That will stretch the calf muscle and eliminate the cramp. Mike, take it away. Mike: Now, there are many options depending upon the amount of mobility you have in your legs. Some people can possibly get their other foot down there and try to help push up, bringing the toes towards your face a little bit. Mike: This'll stretch the calf muscle out. Other people maybe can't do that. What you can try to do is possibly heel slide. As you go up more, your foot will go into more of a neutral or slightly dorsiflexed position. Mike: Sometimes this can help. Other people, if you have mobile enough hips, maybe you just have to get your foot up here and then use your hands to help pull. Basically, you just want to get the foot from a planter flex position down into a neutral or up position like this to stretch that calf out Brad: Right? Put your leg back down. I just want to mention, if you're able to just pull your ankle up without assistance, that's the easiest way, and that can be all you need to do. But even if you do, you wake up with a cramp and you stretch it out like this, it might be a good idea to actually stand up and do the weight grain stretch just to make sure you don't have the potential to have another one later in the night. Mike: Oftentimes when I experience a cramp, me being younger, I get relief by simply getting out of bed. Normally, I'm trying not to yell too loudly to wake up my girlfriend. Brad: What's she doing there? Mike: She's sleeping. But once you stand up here, then you want to get up, once you're up, and you start to bear weight through it. See, like here, once I start going down, I'm going to start getting a stretch. It might feel a little tight, but oftentimes once I get up, put weight on it, I might limp a little bit for a bit, but after a while it calms down. This is typically the quickest relief for me personally. Brad: Do you ever add more stretch, like a stretch by the wall? Mike: Usually not afterwards because I'm tired and I want to go back to bed. But this is a good option to do during the daytime. Brad: Right, or before you go to bed, use the wall for support, and I'm stretching my left calf. If that's the one that normally cramps up at night, I'm going to push my heel to the floor. Can you point that out, Mike? Mike: Right there. Brad: There we go, that's why I'm wearing my red and blue socks. So it's very clear that we have that, and if your foot goes turned to the side, it's not doing anything. Point it this way, stretch it for 15, at probably 15 minimal, up to 30 seconds would be good to help that potential of eliminating the problem. Wow, do you feel better now, Mike? Mike: I feel great. Brad: How often do you get cramps at night? Mike: Not too often right now, but in the summer, a little more. I'm very active. Brad: Maybe when you're running, training longer distances for your marathon? Mike: Yeah, or when I'm running around in cleats a little bit more. Brad: We won't want cleats. What do you run around in cleats for? Mike: Playing Frisbee. Brad: Oh yeah, that's right, okay. Okay, two controversial methods, let's get to them. Now, we mentioned two controversial methods to eliminate night cramps. The first one, apple cider vinegar. Now you just don't take a bottle and you know, drink out of it. There's actually a formula for mixing it with water. This is something that we found evidence and studies, and some information on why it does work, but it's not confirmed that it's a cure at all. It's one of those things; it is controversial. We have a video, " Apple Cider Vinegar: Use For Leg Cramp, and More (Updated). " The video explains the studies and why it may work. And there's some nice anecdotal evidence of this actually working. Mike: Now, the other method Brad had learned from some clientele we used to see in the past is when they're sleeping, they put a bar of soap under their sheets, and they claim it helps. I do not know the science behind this at all, but it's an option some people swear by. Brad: I don't think there is any science, but I've had a number of patients. Typically, they're older and they swear by it, put the bar of soap in their sheets, and they don't get cramps. I don't know, I'm not going to promote it, but it's interesting what you hear. Mike: What we do know is often times there are mineral deficiencies, typically in potassium and magnesium. So maybe you can get those levels checked out if you have chronic cramps in your calves. Brad: That's right. Good luck with your night cramps, and please, good luck with them. We know they're not fun. 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Affiliate Disclaimer: Keep in mind that we may receive commissions when you click our links and make purchases. However, this does not impact our reviews and comparisons. We are highly selective in our products and try our best to keep things fair and balanced to help you make the best choice for you.

Patellofemoral pain or patellofemoral pain syndrome is an umbrella term for pain arising from your kneecap. The pain is generally felt around the kneecap or at the front of the knee. It is more common in people who participate in running and jumping sports. Kneecap pain can be caused by trauma, but often it is caused by poor positioning of the kneecap. The kneecap is positioned within a groove on the end of your thigh bone. If the kneecap is deviated or tilted to one side, it can result in overuse or overload on the part of the thigh bone, resulting in pain, discomfort, and irritation. The poor positioning of the kneecap can be caused by muscle weakness, imbalances, or tightness. The poor positioning of the kneecap can also be caused by issues with your hip or your foot. We will address these issues in the treatment video for kneecap pain. Common Signs of Patellofemoral Pain (Kneecap Pain) a. Pain when sitting prolonged period with the knee bent (cinema sign). b. Pain with tight clothing that puts pressure on your kneecap when you bend your knee (skinny jeans). c. Pain going into or coming up from a squat. d. Pain going up or down stairs or hills. e. Pain when wearing high heels or standing with knees hyper-extended. Three Tests for Patellofemoral Pain (Kneecap Pain) 1. If you have “loose ligaments” or are “double-jointed jointed” you may want to skip this test. Push your kneecap back and forth and up and down. Look for tightness. Be careful not to dislocate. It may be tight in all four directions. 2. Push down on the kneecap and move back and forth. Increased pain and possible crepitus (crunchy noise) may be a sign of patellofemoral pain. 3. Squat down till thighs are level (if possible). Increased knee pain could be a sign of patellofemoral pain. Check out the full Knee Pain Relief Program series of videos, along with downloadable guide sheets, here: https://www.bobandbrad.com/health-programs/knee-pain-relief-program

This article is a transcribed, edited summary of a video Bob and Brad recorded in August 2024. For the original video, go to https://youtu.be/tN4UK8PuJro Brad: All right, this is a subject today, heel pain, particularly for people 50 and over. The big question is, how to get rid of it. We're going to help you out with that today. Mike: So we're going to cover the three most common heel pain issues, what's causing them, and then we'll get into detail on how to make your pain less drastic. Brad: Now, there is one thing I do want to mention is that there is a relatively common heel pain that younger kids have between the ages of eight and 14. It's called Sever's disease. It's typically associated with growth plates and growing. It usually only lasts for a few months and resolves without any problems. So, in case your children are having that or grandchildren, that is really not a big deal in most cases. Now let's get on with the big three we're going to talk about. First, we're going to go through each diagnosis and typical symptoms, and then we're going to give you some common treatments you can do at home to help reduce the pain quickly and long-term fixes. Let's go to the first one. Mike: It is Plantar fascitis. Brad: That's right. So, for plantar fascitis, very common symptoms are the pain is typically on the heel, right at this point where the plantar fascia, which comes down from the forefoot, connects to the heel right there. Brad: Another thing that's very common is when you get up in the morning, you get out of bed and stand, "whoa, is it painful,' makes you limps a little, and within a few minutes of walking, it'll stretch out and get, okay, that's very common. Mike, you have some more on this. Mike: So with plantar fascitis, typically you might notice a little bit of pain initially, maybe just when you're walking, but it can linger for months, and it can start radiating. So maybe it's just one spot, and then before you know it, it's the whole bottom of your foot just aches and pains. So that's a common symptom that it is plantar fascitis. Brad: That's right, let's go on to Achilles tendonitis. Mike: So with Achilles tendonitis, typically it's not located directly on your heel, it's more your Achilles tendon, which is located in the back of the foot above the heel region. You can have tenderness or pain here, it can radiate down into the foot a bit, or it can even go up into the calf. Brad: Right now, the Achilles tendon is responsible for holding and moving most of the weight of your body with every step. So naturally, that is when the pain gets worse. When you're walking on particularly uneven terrain or going uphill, particularly will irritate, flare up, and cause you more pain. Mike: Oftentimes, doing steps can make it more aggravated as well because you are really kind of stretching that Achilles tendon area. Brad: That's right. Okay, the third one is probably the least common amongst these three, and that's a stress fracture to the calcaneus or the heel bone. It's quite a large bone. Now what happens is the bone does not actually fracture like you think a complete fracture, very small cracks can form in there, and it's typically as a result of repetitive motion or something new, some activity that's new to a person. And this can cause a lot of pain, and it's typically throughout the calcaneus. It may be more in one area than the other, which is different than plantar fasciitis, where it's in that one spot. Mike: Sometimes, a sudden jar or impact that is hard and sudden can cause a calcaneal fracture as well. And typically with these, you want to stop walking or running, whatever you're doing, jumping, maybe. You want to avoid any impact or stress on it. Oftentimes, you're going to go see the doctor, they may give you some type of splint or walking boot or even crutches just to get off it. Because with bones, it just takes time to heal. Brad: That's right. Actually, with stress fractures in the calcaneus, they recommend three months, or 12 weeks, to get things to heal up properly with modified behavior, which is pretty tough for a lot of people. Anyways, with all of these, all three of these, it's very common, a change in activity, repetitive motion, or different footwear can cause these, and it's very difficult to specify in any three what exactly is the cause. A lot of people will have plantar fascitis, no apparent reason, but they have it, and they know they have it. Now we're going to go through treatments that are consistent with all three diagnoses, which can be very helpful and make things a little easier for you. All right, again, with all of these, you want to keep the calf muscles loose, and that's going to reduce stress on the tendon, the plantar fascia, as well as the calcaneal stress fracture. So you can either do it. A good thing to do is before you get out of bed, Mike is lying as if he's in bed, or before you get up and walk around. So I'm going to be doing it in a chair if I get out of bed, and I'm sitting down in the bedroom yet, stretch that calcaneus and stretch that tendon and get that whole unit stretch, Mike, show them a good way to do it. Mike: So I'd be stretching my right foot here. If you're comfortable in this type of position, we call this a figure-four cross-leg position. You can easily reach your foot this way. Simply grab the top of the foot and the toes and bring them up towards your shin. This is going to stretch. You can see my plantar fascia right here. Mike: It can also get into my Achilles tendon and calf. They're actually all connected, so you get a good stretch here. Mike: You can do repetitions with it. You can hold it for 10 to 30 seconds, whatever feels comfortable. Obviously, if you have really touchy plantar fascitis, don't be too aggressive, just kind of warm it up a little bit. Brad: Another thing you can do if you have a cane, that's not a hook cane, but one that's flat, while you're seated, this works best with a shoe on, you put that on the forefoot and it'll kind of grip to the sole of the shoe and you can simply pull back and get a nice stretch using those arms, leaning back into it as such. Brad: Again, you know, five or six repetitions or so, or hold for 15 to 30 seconds to get that stretched out. Mike's going to show you how you can use a strap or a belt, where you have a loop, and put it around the forefoot in the chair or lying down. Mike: You can also use a bed sheet if that works for you. Whatever you have handy. It's the same concept. You can just stretch up with a band. I like it because it has a little give, so I can actually push down against it. Just get some motion and some calf planter flexion going on. This can kind of strengthen the muscle, move it, and get through some range of motion. Just feels good for me. You don't have to do this, but it's just an option. Brad: Alright, now we're going to go to the other part of the day. At the end of the day, if you've had plantar fasciitis or one of these diagnoses and your foot is just worn out, it's painful. This is a really good time to take a cold pack . This is what I use, one that's soft and gel. When you pull it out of the freezer, put it on the floor, and just put your heel right into it so that it conforms around the calcaneus. Sit there for 10 to 20 minutes. A really nice way to get that heel to feel better at the end of the day. Mike: Now, another thing to think about with heel pain is how you walk. Typically, most people nowadays walk with a heel strike pattern. If your heel already hurts, this is going to put more impact forces on it, aggravating your problems even more. It can also cause issues in other joints, such as the ankle, knee, hip, and even the lower back. So what we want to do is try to do soft knee walking, we can call it, or walking on your forefoot. So when you take a step forward, try to land on the ball of your foot or the front of your foot, not your heel. Mike: When you do this, typically it'll take that pressure and load off of your calcaneus, allowing that plantar fascia to settle down more or even heel up. You don't necessarily always have to walk around on your tippy toes like this. This is just a good way to begin, see how it feels. Over time, you can just try taking shorter steps and not landing directly on your heel out in front of you. If you just think about, "hey, I'm just going to keep my knees bent as I'm walking, not have them straight out in front of me," it typically will lead to the correct form of walking. Brad: This is one of those things that, when you change your walking pattern like that, you immediately feel less stress and pain in the problem area. So you'll know it, take your time with it, and I like to do it. If I train myself to do this, I like to do it, and on my concrete driveway, I'll go barefoot, and I can very clearly take care of my heel pain, which I'm dealing with right now. Now this next one's common sense, at least in my mind, and a lot of people think, well, I need to work through the pain. You do not do that. If you do an activity that irritates your heel, makes it worse while you're doing it, or as a result of it. For example, my heel pain, if I went running, it didn't hurt while I ran, but the next hour afterwards, I was limping. So, I had to stop running for a month. Now things are much better. So avoid things that irritate it, no matter what it is. Let the body heal, and then work with these stretches, and the walking and things will improve. Okay, another thing you can do to help improve circulation, which always improves healing, is massage. You can simply use your hands and do a manual massage. For plantar fascitis, specifically, you're going to massage the bottom of your foot. Using your thumbs, at least for me, is the easiest. You can work in, and you can do circles deep into that plantar fascia. You're not just working superficially, but you want to get in deep and splain where you push in and pull that apart, and you do that all the way up to the calcaneus, that heel where that heel pain is. If it's really tender there, stay away from it. Brad: Now we can do the same thing. Remember that this tissue is connected via the calcaneus or the heel to the calf muscles. If those muscles get tight, it will affect the heel pain. So we massage the big muscle here, the calf, what are the muscles there, the soleus, and the? Mike: And the gastrocnemius. Brad: So we're going to work on that. Now, the big disadvantage of massaging your muscles is that your fingers will get tired and sore, particularly if you have any arthritis in there. If you do happen to have a massage gun, they really do shine when it comes to this. For the muscle up here, I'm going to show we've got the C2 Pro . Now this new head, this is new technology, actually heats up and it heats up very well up to 113 degrees, and I might work that on the muscles. When you find a tight spot, it'll be a little more painful, and you can work around that area, and I'll just continue for three to five minutes. Mike, you want to show how you can do the bottom of the foot for plantar fasciitis. Mike: So you're going to have to be able to reach the bottom of your foot. If you're using a massage gun, typically, just work the bottom area. I have this nice soft cushioned ball head on here, or an airhead would work well. Sometimes, the trigger point massage gun heads are going to be a little too aggressive early on. Just go around it. You don't necessarily have to go push directly hard force in. That feels good, you certainly can. You can certainly do the side aspect. Mike: Again, if your heel is more tender, work around that region. Don't go directly on it. Over time, if it becomes better, you can massage over it later, but this is a less aggressive massage head, just kind of how to dig in there. Now, if you don't have a massage gun or you can't reach your feet, and it's the bottom of your foot being problematic, you can definitely use a foot massager option as well. There are many varieties of these. We have two different options you can use. They're nice, you just plug them in, put your feet inside, and let the massager do the work. Brad: Right, that's a really nice option for 20 minutes, you can watch TV, fall asleep, read a book, whatever it may be. So, we hope you find these tips helpful. You'll find at least one or two of these options helpful in reducing pain and speeding up your recovery. What have we got? Another video that can help these people out? Mike: If you want to check out a video on how to stop foot pain with walking, whether it hits the heel, arch, or even the forefoot, check out our video, " Stop Foot Pain While Walking; Heel, Arch, Or Forefeet ," and I'm just going to keep massaging this because it feels nice. Brad: It really does. For this week’s Giveaway, visit :  https://bobandbrad.com/giveaways Bob and Brad’s Products Pain Management: A2 Pro Massage Gun A7 Pro Massage Gun with Heat and Cold Therapy Back Massager C2 Massage Gun (US) C2 Pro Massage Gun with Heat and Cold Therapy C2 Plus Massage Gun with Heat C2 Max Massage Gun with Metal Head D5 Pro Massage Gun D6 Pro Massage Gun D6 Plus Massage Gun with Heated Head D6 Pro Max Massage Gun with Metal Head EyeOasis 2 Eye Massager EyeOasis 2 Plus Eye Massager with Remote EyeOasis 3 Eye Massager Eye Massager with Heating and Cooling EZBack Massager   EZBack Massager With Remote Fit Glide Foot Massager Hand Massager HandSpa Pro Hand Massager Holy Cowabunga Cream   iNeck Pro Neck and Shoulder Massager Knee Glide   Lite Foot Massager M7 Plus Mini Massage Gun with Heat Therapy Posture Pad Q2 Mini Massage Gun (US) Q2 Pro Massage Gun with Heat and Cold Head Q2 Plus Mini Massage Gun  Q2 Max Massage Gun with Metal Head sWAVE Massage Gun with Belt T2 Massage Gun  T2 Pro Massage Gun with Heat and Cold Head T2 Pro Max Massage Gun with Metal Head TheraPanel 4 -Headed Massage Gun Weighted Heating Pad for Back Weighted Heating Pad For Neck and Shoulders Weighted Heating Pad-Long X6 Massage Gun with Stainless Steel Head X6 Pro Max Massage with Heat-Cold and Metal Head Fitness: Hanging Handles​ Hand Grip Strengthener Kit   Pull Up System Resistance Bands​   Wall Anchor​ Stretching: Booyah Stik   Stretch Strap Bob & Brad Amazon Store   and other products Bob and Brad Love Check out our shirts, mugs, bags, and more in our Bob and Brad merchandise sho Medical Disclaimer: All information, content, and material on this website are for informational purposes only and are not intended to serve as a substitute for the consultation, diagnosis, and/or medical treatment of a qualified physician or healthcare provider. Affiliate Disclaimer: Keep in mind that we may receive commissions when you click our links and make purchases. However, this does not impact our reviews and comparisons. We are highly selective in our products and try our best to keep things fair and balanced to help you make the best choice for you.

This article is a transcribed, edited summary of a video Bob and Brad recorded in July 2024. For the original video, go to https://youtu.be/_ENSGw0g7VU Brad: So, balance is today's topic, and there are a lot of videos that have a lot of good exercises on balance and how to improve it. I wanted to get the best of the best, and we've got three of them that, in my opinion, are the best of the best. Mike? Mike: These can be done in less than two minutes, this whole routine, so it won't waste a lot of your time. Brad: To get the best of the best, I looked at it from a therapist's perspective, and we're going to tell you why they're the best of the best. It's going to make sense. And as you do them, you're going to improve day to day, perhaps week to week, and have better balance. Follow us and we'll show you how. Mike: So we're going to cover the three areas of balance. First are dynamic challenges. So these are functional movements you may be doing at home, and people often commonly fall down during these movements. Brad: You're right. In this case, we're going to do some sidestepping, which is a very common way to lose, catch, or lose your balance and fall. The next is challenges when your vision becomes poor, which almost everybody, once you get above 50, your vision does decrease. Vision is a critical aspect of balance, and you'll understand that when we show you and you actually do it. Mike: The third component is called proprioception. It's a fancy word for knowing where your feet are in space, so if you're able to walk and move around without staring at your feet, and know what they are doing. Brad: That's right. This is something that you're really not aware of when you're younger, but as you get older, and we demonstrate it, you're going to say, "Oh, this makes so much sense," and you'll understand it. Let's go, Mike, one, two, three. Balance away. Mike: L-M-N-O-P. Brad: Okay, we're going to go through each of them. We're going to instruct on how to do them. We're going to do a beginner version and an advanced version of each one. And then at the end, we're just going to go through them without any explanation, so you can see how it's going to look once you have them memorized and you're comfortable with them. So number one is... Mike: Sidestepping for beginners. So hold onto something for support, whether you're at a countertop, use a railing or a cane of sorts, and you're simply gonna step sideways. The shorter your steps, the easier it'll be. The wider the steps, the more challenging it'll become. Brad's doing it at the wall there. So just go back and forth, whatever room you have in your house, maybe it's 5 feet, maybe it's 10 feet, go back and forth a few times. Now, if this is easy, you can advance to the next thing, which Brad will show. Brad: What do we call this? Mike: Carioca, grapevine, it has a hundred names. Brad: Yeah, we don't know what you really should call it, but you'll recognize it right away. And for this, I definitely want you to hold onto a wall, a cupboard, or a stick, especially when you get started. It's a little confusing, but where you cross your feet, and then you go over, and then you cross behind. So the leg that's moving alternates in front and then behind. I'll go the other direction. Brad: Now, I would advise you to look at what you're doing, so you feel comfortable with it. And you know, if you get mixed up, it doesn't matter. The whole idea is you get that motion and you can control it. If you do have to catch your balance and cross your legs, it's not unusual. You've been practicing it, and you're going to have a much lower risk of falling when something like that happens. So again, cross and back. If you use a wall at first, then go to the cupboard, and that's maybe where you will stay. If you want to use a stick, because you feel confident, do that, but use good judgment and do not do it unless you really feel solid. All right, let's go to number two. Now, on this, we're going to talk about vision, and you'll find out how important seeing things around you really is to your balance. So Mike's going to do it, and he's going to do it in the corner, back to the corner like this. Highly recommend it, without you don't want to do it, without being in the corner is what I'm trying to say. Go ahead, Mike. Mike: So you can use a cane, walker, or a chair for support if needed in front of you. The corner's nice because if you lose your balance, you can just tip into the wall and it'll catch you. So, for beginners, start with a wide base of support, feet shoulder width apart roughly. Hold onto something if you need to. Just stand here. If you can try not to hold onto whatever you normally use, that's a beginner position to start in. After that seems easy, try closing your eyes in this position. Just start with 5 to 10 seconds, eventually work up to 15 to 30 seconds. Once that feels easy, try narrowing your base of support, so bring your feet together, touch your feet. Again, start with eyes open. That seems easy. Progress to eyes closed. Mike: If you feel wobbly or shaky here, stay there for a while. Make sure you have support around you, so you don't actually fall down. Now, once that becomes easy, you can do this for 30 seconds, no issues, try progressing to one leg. Just lift one slightly off the ground. The higher the leg up, the more challenging it'll become. But you could see for me, once I close my eyes and do this, my ankles start to move a little bit more, it becomes more challenging even at a younger age. Woo! Brad: Now, three points I want to bring up with this one are that you may never get to the single-leg stance. That's quite advanced, and you know, Mike, are you 20 years old, 30 years old, and he's having a hard time with it. So you may only get to both feet, and maybe touching. Be careful, have good judgment. Number two is footwear, or doing it with your socks or without, barefoot. Whatever you feel comfortable with. I'd probably use the footwear that you normally wear, use, so you're used to it. And thirdly, make sure you're relaxed and you breathe with this. If you're kind of nervous, your breathing will get shallow. It's going to make your balance off a little bit. It'll make a big difference when you learn to relax, breathe. Your balance always feels better when you're in a relaxed state. All right, anything else, Mike? Mike: No, let's go on proprioception. Brad: Number three. All right, proprioception, it's a big word, and to really understand it, I'm going to demonstrate it. So it means your mind, your brain, knows where your feet and legs are without looking down at them, just through the sensation and the feedback to your brain. In other words, when you take a step forward, you know where things are down there. Now, people, a good example, have difficulty with are people with neuropathy. They may be diabetic. You cannot feel; there's numbness in your feet. Those people really need to practice this. So the way I always do this with patients is I have them what I call walk the line. So imagine there's a line on the floor, or you could, maybe you have a line on your floor, just by the way it's made with the decoration, or the tiling. So you can do this with shoes on or without. Now, we go heel to toe. Heel to toe. Now, I know my heel is touching my toe because I can see it and I can feel it. Now, some people with neuropathy may not be able to feel it or may not feel it so well. So we want to get really sensitive and really monitor what's going on down there. And we're going to look at it. I'm using the table for balance. You can use a cupboard or a wall. And then you go backwards where your toe literally touches your heel, toe literally touches your heel. Brad: Now, when you can do it and you can feel it and you understand that, the next step is to look straight ahead, and again, make sure you feel it. Now, some people, you'll be kind of like, where's that toe? Oh, there it is. And then it'll be a little practice, but eventually, with practice, you'll get better. Going backwards is more difficult. When you go backwards, things are like, where are they? And feel that toe, touch the heel. Get it right, there we go. And you may end up needing to feel around a little, and that's okay, that's why we're practicing. You could use a cane in one hand, the wall, and a cupboard, whatever it is, to be stable. Brad: After you do this for a while, it'll become very simple, and you'll get used to it. You'll relax more. When you relax, like I mentioned earlier, things go better, and your balance is better. It's a wonderful tool for proprioception and balance. Mike, do you have anything to add? Mike: As it becomes easier, try to become less dependent upon your hands for support and put more weight on your feet. Early on, you may have to heavily depend upon your cane, countertop, or whatever to feel safe. Later, just touch it in case you lose your balance, but don't heavily lean on it. Brad: Now, we covered a lot of information here, and it took a few minutes, but once you do this and you get used to each technique, it becomes easy, and quite quickly, you'll have it done in less than two minutes. We're going to give an example of it after you feel comfortable with it. Okay, here we go. We're going to start with the sidestepping, and we're just going to take our time. Look down, then we're going to look up at the wall, go back and forth, and we're going to do this two or three times. You can do more of that if you want, or you can go longer distances, right to left, if you have it available. Advance to karaoke or the grapevine if you feel like you want to challenge. Only do it if you feel comfortable with it. It does take practice. There we go. And that's enough for that one. Now we're going to go to the next one. In the corner, Mike will demonstrate. I'll babble on. Mike: So again, start with the basic feet wide apart. This is where you need to begin. Close your eyes, 5, 10 seconds. Work up to 30 seconds. This is pretty easy for me. I'm going to bring my feet together, close my eyes, and say I hit 30 seconds now. Pretty easy. I'm going to go on one leg, standing. When you do one leg, make sure to do both sides. Build up over time to 15 to 30 seconds, and to make that added challenge, you can close your eyes. Brad: And just remember, you may only get to the point where your feet are wide apart. Maybe you'll be challenged once you close your eyes. Don't advance to a higher level than you're ready for. And finally, we're going to do, again, the proprioception. Look down as you need. Ah, I'm getting the hang of that now. Make sure you go backwards. There we go. Look straight ahead. Don't look down and see how it goes. Breathe and relax. Oh, that makes a big difference. "Oh, he's right," you're going to say. I'm just, you know, talking to myself. Mike: Yes, you are. Brad: I do that. You should see my wife when she wonders, "What's going on? Who are you talking to down in the basement?" Anyways, it works very well, and that's it. And you can do that, that took about what? 72 seconds. Mike: Were you timing exactly? Brad: No, I wasn't, but it'll be about two minutes once you get used to it. Do it daily. If you want to do it in the morning after you've been up for a while, and then later in the afternoon, twice a day. It'll take four minutes of your day, and you will notice a difference. You're going to become more confident, and you're going to know where those feet are and feel much more comfortable. There you go. There's another video, isn't there? Mike: If you want to check out another video on how to improve your balance, watch " Balance Exercises for Seniors, Beginners to Advanced ." Brad: There you go. Just some more options for you. Always looking for something new. Mike, do you have anything else to say, whether it's intelligent or not? Mike: He does talk to himself quite a bit. Brad: There you go. Thank you. Have a good day. 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Affiliate Disclaimer: Keep in mind that we may receive commissions when you click our links and make purchases. However, this does not impact our reviews and comparisons. We are highly selective in our products and try our best to keep things fair and balanced to help you make the best choice for you.

If you have not watched the other video on Osgood-Schlatter Disease in our series entitled: " What is Causing Your Knee Pain? Osgood-Schlatter Disease? How to Tell ." You may want to do so. It will help with your understanding of treatment. Osgood-Schlatter disease will eventually go away on its own, generally after the involved person’s growth spurt stops. Although it may be uncomfortable to participate in sports, it generally is not dangerous to do so. Try the following suggestions. 1. Perform warm-up exercises before playing sports. Specifically, quadricep, hamstring, and calf stretches. These stretches can also be performed throughout the day. 2. Avoid specialization in one sport. 3. Avoid high-intensity workouts or practices in a sport. 4. Try cross-fiber massage over the patellar tendon a. especially prior to playing sports (2-3 minutes). The massage can also be performed throughout the day. 5. Use shock-absorber insoles in both shoes. 6. Use a heating pad for 15 minutes prior to a sporting activity and use a cold pack for 20 minutes after. The cold pack may also be used throughout the day. 7. Wear a protective pad to cushion the top of your shin bone. 8. Try the use of an over-the-counter medicine such as Ibuprofen, Advil, or Motrin to fight pain and inflammation (if approved by your doctor). 9. Strengthen your quadriceps muscles. See a demonstration of an isometric quad set with a pillow. Check out the full Knee Pain Relief Program series of videos, along with downloadable guide sheets, here: https://www.bobandbrad.com/health-programs/knee-pain-relief-program

This article is a transcribed, edited summary of a video Bob and Brad recorded in July 2024. For the original video, go to https://youtu.be/6vvLZJRy_qg Mike: Do you struggle transferring from one spot to another? Brad: Well, today, we're going to show a simple trick on how to make your transfers much easier and safer. Mike: So, this technique was actually researched and tried by our own Bob Schrupp because his balance is compromised a bit due to his ataxia . So he found a way that's easier for him to go from a sitting to a standing position using one simple trick. Brad: He wanted to share this with other people who are having the same problem. And using the chair that we're going to talk about works very well, and it's really changed his ability to do so. Mike: So Bob says he performs this out of recliners, sofas, or even the bed. It has to be something rather stable. It probably won't work well in a standard chair because you kind of have to use the surface you're sitting on as leverage itself. Brad: And one important part is that the chair has an area down by the legs that is solid like this. If it's open down there, then it won't work. You'll see what I mean in just a second. Mike: So what Bob likes to do is when he's sitting in a chair, he likes to bring his feet back and push his calves against the back of the chair. You have what is called haptic feedback. So you have some type of sensory or touch on the back of your legs. This'll actually kind of help activate your leg muscles a little more as well. It's going to gauge your hamstrings and quads a bit more. So once I'm back here, I'm standing up, but I'm keeping my legs touching, and that gives good feedback, and Bob feels safe when he is getting up as well as sitting down. Mike: Now he also says, sometimes what he'll do is he has a walker in front of him. He'll do that again, but he may put both hands on one side, and he kind of goes up sideways. Once you get here, you can start grabbing your walker, and just having that leg touching the chair you are sitting on helps. Brad: I think it is very common with our experience when people do get up and they don't have that support, that people will tip backwards. Brad: That is going to offer support. Is that accurate, Bob? Bob: Yeah, it is. Brad: Yep, Bob concurs. Mike: So, to go through the whole process, when you are in a sitting position for a while, get your chair in an optimal position. If you can scoot more to the edge like this, that's fine, but make sure to bring your legs back and then push with your arms because that often helps most people, and then stand up, grab whatever assisted device you may use. Again, when sitting down, it's important to reach back when you're sitting. If you would like, you certainly can touch the back of your legs to the chair to make sure it is there, and then reach back when sitting and try to go nice and controlled. Brad: Right, that whole idea of stepping back a little bit so you can feel the chair behind you assures you that you know where the chair is and there's going to be no incident of a fall. All right, so I hope you use this technique and find it successful. We're going to call it, it's Bob's Patented Sit-to-Stand Technique. We'll get that down on paper, and it should work out well. And we have another video that will complement this. Mike: Yes, if you happen to have weak legs, which you probably do if you're struggling with sit-to-stands, you can check out our video, " Single Best Leg Strengthening Exercises for Seniors- Progress Guaranteed! ". Brad: You can't go wrong. For this week’s Giveaway, visit :  https://bobandbrad.com/giveaways Bob and Brad’s Products Pain Management: A2 Pro Massage Gun A7 Pro Massage Gun with Heat and Cold Therapy Back Massager C2 Massage Gun (US) C2 Pro Massage Gun with Heat and Cold Therapy C2 Plus Massage Gun with Heat C2 Max Massage Gun with Metal Head D5 Pro Massage Gun D6 Pro Massage Gun D6 Plus Massage Gun with Heated Head D6 Pro Max Massage Gun with Metal Head EyeOasis 2 Eye Massager EyeOasis 2 Plus Eye Massager with Remote EyeOasis 3 Eye Massager Eye Massager with Heating and Cooling EZBack Massager   EZBack Massager With Remote Fit Glide Foot Massager Hand Massager HandSpa Pro Hand Massager Holy Cowabunga Cream   iNeck Pro Neck and Shoulder Massager Knee Glide   Lite Foot Massager M7 Plus Mini Massage Gun with Heat Therapy Posture Pad Q2 Mini Massage Gun (US) Q2 Pro Massage Gun with Heat and Cold Head Q2 Plus Mini Massage Gun  Q2 Max Massage Gun with Metal Head sWAVE Massage Gun with Belt T2 Massage Gun  T2 Pro Massage Gun with Heat and Cold Head T2 Pro Max Massage Gun with Metal Head TheraPanel 4 -Headed Massage Gun Weighted Heating Pad for Back Weighted Heating Pad For Neck and Shoulders Weighted Heating Pad-Long X6 Massage Gun with Stainless Steel Head X6 Pro Max Massage with Heat-Cold and Metal Head Fitness: Hanging Handles​ Hand Grip Strengthener Kit   Pull Up System Resistance Bands​   Wall Anchor​ Stretching: Booyah Stik   Stretch Strap Bob & Brad Amazon Store   and other products Bob and Brad Love Check out our shirts, mugs, bags, and more in our Bob and Brad merchandise shop Medical Disclaimer: All information, content, and material on this website are for informational purposes only and are not intended to serve as a substitute for the consultation, diagnosis, and/or medical treatment of a qualified physician or healthcare provider. Affiliate Disclaimer: Keep in mind that we may receive commissions when you click our links and make purchases. However, this does not impact our reviews and comparisons. We are highly selective in our products and try our best to keep things fair and balanced to help you make the best choice for you.

This article is a transcribed, edited summary of a video Bob and Brad recorded in July 2024. For the original video, go to https://youtu.be/Gz2ZIccRwZc Brad: All right, we're going to cover 10 exercises that can help improve your posture as well as your back pain. Now we're gathering this information from 50 years of experience in the clinic with Bob, me, and Mike. Mike: As well as experts that we've interviewed, like Dr. Stuart McGill and Rick Olderman . Brad: Now, good posture and back pain are related like food and good health. So, we're going to go through it in detail, and you'll understand exactly what we mean. Mike: So there are many good stretches for back pain. A lot of it just depends on your individual needs, what makes your back actually feel good, and what makes it feel worse. Brad: So we'll go through the 10 stretches, do them along with us, and you're going to have to follow the rules we're going to go through to determine if the stretches are right for you. There are probably two or three for most people that are really going to be helpful. Mike: So we're going to cover three important rules with every stretch. And the first rule is, if the stretch creates any sharp pain at all, it is not the stretch for you, and just avoid that one. Brad: Very good, number two. If it feels good while you're doing it, that's a good sign. But it's also important to find out if it responds well after doing it, in other words, an hour or two, or up to 24 hours afterwards, to ensure that there are no residual effects that are negative. That can happen sometimes. Mike: And the third rule is you have to relax and make sure you're breathing through each stretch. If you're tense doing the stretch, it's not going to do much. Brad: That's right. So just enjoy the stretches, go through them, follow these rules, and we will determine what's going to work for you. Okay, the first stretch, we're going to use names that you can remember or not, and there are different names for these depending on yoga, therapist, or whatever you want. But we call this what? Mike: This is called the child's pose, or all four hands rocking, whatever you want to call it. So you're going to start on your hands and knees like this. Now you're going to sit your butt towards your heels while keeping your hands in place. As you go down, this is going to start stretching your back. It also stretches your shoulders and other parts of your body. But if you have spinal stenosis, this stretch might feel good for you. Brad: That's right, it also helps stretch out the shoulders and resolve some back pain up there. One thing is you're not going to do it on a table, you could do it on a bed, but it usually works best on a carpeted floor. And notice Mike's feet, he actually has his feet down like this, it actually does a nice stretch on the ankle as well. Brad: If you do it with your toes up, it's a little more difficult. You could do it that way as well, you won't get as good a stretch on your back, but that's up to you, work with it. And again, remember the rules, if you get sharp pain, or this it's not comfortable, scratch it off. If it feels good, it may be on your list of things to do. Mike: You can also stretch one way more than the other by crossing your hands if you want. So, say you have the left side of my body that's tight or needs some stretching, reach over to my right side. Get a little extra stretch, and you can switch sides. You could do this for three to four repetitions of 20 to 30 seconds, just make sure you're breathing throughout it. Brad: Very good, let's go to number two. So stretch number two, particularly if you have low-sided back pain on one side, let's say it's on your right side. We can do it this way using a door frame, or I'll show you a way where you can simply use a Booyah Stik or a cane. Go ahead. Mike: You can also use a pull-up bar if you happen to have one. Now I'm going to face my palm away from me, put it on top of the door frame. I realize there'll be a wall here, but I don't have one. So once you're up here, you're going to start to lean your pelvis through the door. And the more you bend your knees, the more of a stretch you will start feeling. This can really help decompress the spine on this side. So if you have some sort of sciatic or pinched nerve, this can really help with that. Brad: Now, this may be difficult for someone to do, depending on the height of the door and yourself, as well as your comfort level and finger strength, so that when you do this, you're safe. So if that's the case, simply go ahead and use the stick of some sort, and you can do this seated or standing. You'll simply put the stick on the chair and then reach up, grab here, and I'm stretching already, I'm feeling a stretch here. And now if I lean to the right, that actually puts a real nice stretch. The key is, is that your hand doesn't slip down the stick. So get a grip on there and feel that stretch. Brad: You can actually do this standing as well, at a table or a cupboard with a stick there, and stretch, feel that stretch there again. Once again, wait as soon as you feel that stretch, it should relieve that pain. If it hurts, it's not comfortable, scratch it. Let's go to number three. Mike: So for this next stretch, you're going to be lying down on your stomach. Brad will show an alternative version standing. So this is called a prone press-up in the therapy world. What you can do is start by lying flat on your stomach. I can't put my head down because my mic is right here. And first, try to just go up on your elbows. If this is pain-free and easy, you can progress to the next step. If you start to feel back pain here, just sit here, relax, and stretch out in this position. Over time, what you want to try to do is put your hands on the mat, press up to where you comfortably can, hold for a second, and then come back down. Mike: Over time, you want to try to progress to getting up as high as you can while keeping your pelvis touching the mat. You don't want it to lift up like this. Mike: So what you're doing is actually working on your spinal extension. This is a good exercise if you happen to have a herniated disc. Brad: Now, when you do this again, if you have pain going down the leg, and as you do this, if the leg pain gets better, that's a green light; you'll want to continue to work with this cautiously. If it causes pain down your leg, or the numbness or tingling gets worse, then you absolutely stop; it's not for you. Now number four is a very similar stretch to this, it does the same motion on the back, except for in a standing position, you're simply going to put your hands at your belt line like this, or like this, use that for support, and then simply stretch backwards. A lot of times, if people are uncomfortable sitting for long periods of time, this can be a good stretch to do before you sit or after you sit, for example, a long car ride. Stretch back like this again, it should feel good the more you do it. I only do these about three to five times, and then I'll do them more frequently, throughout the day, or depending on how often I'm sitting. For example, if you work at a computer, you may want to stand up and do this every one to two hours. Brad: Now this next stretch is pretty common, more with people, maybe 50 years and older, and they're starting to have some stenosis in their back. You'll know if you have back pain and you sit down, and it feels better; this stretch may be good for you. I used to use it when I would walk, and after about half a mile of walking, my back pain would get bad because I have stenosis. So what I would do is I would squat down like this, and immediately, as soon as I did this, my back would feel better. Brad: If you do this and it doesn't feel good, it's not for you again. And I would simply hold out like this for just five to 10 seconds, and I'd get up and maybe do that a couple times. Then I could get up and walk another half mile without pain, then you know you're right on. So that stretch, I kind of threw in there as my personal one, had great experience with it, and I know patients of mine have as well. So there we go, let's go, we're on number one? Mike: Number six. Brad: Oh. Mike: Alright, stretch number six is actually going to work on your spinal or back rotation. This is going to work on your thoracic spine. It's roughly the middle portion of your spine, running from your neck to your lower back region. Mike: So in order to do this, you're going to need to be in a seated position, so your lower back is stationary and can't move. What you're going to do is just start with rotations like this. Gentle, just go in each direction. You may notice one side is tighter than the other, so maybe spend a little more time on that side. If this feels easy, you could certainly add a little bit of pressure by grabbing onto the armrest and then pulling yourself into more rotation like this. Mike: You can just do kind of repetitions with this, or hold for time if you want. Some people may sit here for 15-30 seconds in one position. Some people may be more comfortable just rotating back and forth gently. Brad: Right, and again, that should feel like a good stretch, like maybe you haven't done it. It's really good for driving when you need to turn around to look behind, you have a functional use for it. If you want to get more specific and you want to maintain your posture, and this is a little more advanced, you may or may not want to do this. You simply use a stick that's long enough, put it over your shoulders, and hold onto here. And what this does is lock in your shoulders. And you do it in a seated position, now my waist is locked in, and it really gets a little more specific, you feel a greater stretch in the pec muscles here. It's good for posture as well. So that's why I like doing this one, I really do, I do this one at least three times a week, sometimes more. Yeah, again, feels great. When I'm done, I feel taller, stretched, and ready to go. Are we almost to number seven? Mike: Almost. Brad: There you go, seven, that's a lucky number. Mike: Number seven is going to be a spinal decompression stretch. You're going to need either a pull-up bar, some Hanging Handles , or something you can grab onto and actually hang from. For beginners, it's nice if you happen to have it against the wall. If you're on a pull-up bar and it's not, that's fine. Slowly start sitting and bending your knees, and start feeling that your spine decompresses. Once you feel a comfortable position, just hold there for a while, and you'll get a good stretch. Do what's comfortable; your grip is probably going to give out before your actual back. It's tired in this position, but if you don't feel much of a stretch and you're stronger and you can do it, you can certainly let your legs relax. This is going to decompress your spine even more. However, if you can't do that, it's perfectly fine just to keep your feet flat. Mike: Right, and why don't you go back up, Mike? It's really important that, now Mike is doing it with his back against the wall, because you can use the wall for posture, so you know your back is straight and your head is back. There you go. And it also acts as resistance, so you can control it. I really advise going only 50% of weight bearing, approximately, when you first do this, because it's actually going to work your shoulders as well as your back. It can be great for your shoulders as well. We've had many videos on that. Don't overdo it. Time-wise, I'd start five to 10 seconds. Do it for a few days, if it continues to feel good, then work yourself up maybe to 15 to 30 seconds. Brad: This is one stretch where you have to be relaxed and breathe. If I'm tense and tight, I'm not relaxed my back at all, it's not going to work. Mike: That's right. Brad: So you need to be nice and relaxed. Good point. So that is a little more advanced caution with that, be careful. Now we realize a lot of people do not have a pull-up bar or hanging handles. Simply use a Booyah Stik like I have, or a mop handle like Mike has. And you can do this in a seated position or up to a cupboard, and put your hands up. The important part is, is that when you get the stretch, your hands don't slip down the pole. And so what I'm going to do is reach here, and there are two options, you can do it if you're seated like Mike, is you simply lean forward, and you'll feel a stretch throughout your mid and low back, as well as your shoulders. Breathe and relax, start out gently like our everything. There we go. None of these stretches is ever going to be really aggressive. Even when you get used to them, there's really no reason to try and stretch your body so you get six inches taller; it's not going to happen. Brad: Now, if you're standing, you can simply flex your knees like this to get that same stretch. And being relaxed, like Mike said, is absolutely critical to get that low back to decompress. All right, what do you say, Mike? Mike: Let's go on the next one. Brad: That's right, number nine. Alright, number nine is excellent for posture, which goes along with the pain, as we know. But if you've got the hunch back, and you have a hard time straightening, we're going to use gravity and a roll, about six inches in diameter. You can either use a foam roller or simply make one out of some towels, roll them up tightly and neatly, and tape them up. So it's about six inches in diameter. We'll put that down, and you simply, now doing this on a bed, probably not so good, although you could start, probably on a carpeted floor is best. Put that between your shoulder blades, and we're going to allow gravity, and just relax to pull the shoulders back and keep the head in a neutral position. Can I see that pillow, Mike? Mike: I suppose. Brad: And you probably will need a pillow to let your head relax. If it's dangling there, you get a sore neck, it becomes uncomfortable, and back here like this. And Mike's going to show a little more detail on how to do this on the floor with the actual foam roller. Go ahead, Mike. Mike: So, with the foam roller , typically I start in the lying position. I will sit up because it's a little tricky to get on these, and then you place your buttocks on it, and then the back of your head. This is where the long foam rollers come in handy, the shorter ones don't work as well. So, for this, what you can do is just lie here to begin with. If this feels okay, you can try putting your arms at your sides, and just relaxing, especially if you kind of have that forward rounded posture, this can really open up the shoulders as well as the pec muscles. It just kind of feels good. Mike: If this seems easy, you can try progressing to doing what we call a snow angel. If you don't have snow, you're basically just making an angel on the ground. The goal of this is to keep contact with my head through my back and buttocks on the foam roller. Try to get as much of my hand to touch the floor as possible. If you're really tight, you may be up here; that's perfectly fine. Eventually, try to get your hands down to the ground and you can work up above your head, try to keep your elbows as straight as you can, and then come back down. It's just a good stretch. Brad: Now, I know a few of you might be thinking, I don't have a foam roller, I don't think I can do this one. And you may be too tight for that anyway, you could actually go ahead, show them how to do it. Simply go on a carpeted floor and do the exact same thing without the roller, perhaps use a pillow under your head. And this may be tight for some people. They may actually have their hands go up in the air as they get above their head, so that their hands. Mike: Yes. Brad: Can you demonstrate that, Mike? Mike: So, same concept if I've seen some people lying on the ground and their head is seriously like three or four inches off the ground. And it hurts; they can't even touch. So in that case, start with a pillow, eventually try to get something thinner, maybe a smaller towel roll, and then progress. Once you're able to go flat comfortably, without any issues, then you can start working on bringing your arms out to your side. This might be a good enough stretch. As long as your arms can touch the floor here, then you can do wall angels. They're much easier in this position compared to on the foam roller, because you have to have more flexibility for that. But this is certainly a good starting point. Brad: Alright, let's go to the last one, number 10. This one actually, as far as we know, Mike is the inventor of it. So it's a really good stretch in the seated position. Mike: So, the final stretch, you're going to need to sit in a chair for this one. It's basically just a hallelujah stretch, commonly known. So what you're going to do is arch your back, and then bring your arms up, if you're able to bring your arms up. If you can't bring your arms up, you could certainly just kind of go to the side if needed. So what you want to do is arch your back, get a good stretch, and go back as far as you can, and then come back forward. Mike: Again, this should not cause any pain, but if you want to get a little more stretch, you can try grabbing a ball of sorts. You can even use a towel row at times. Place it behind your back, and find the spot that is comfortable for you. Some people may be higher up, some people may be lower. Just pick the spot and then work on arching back, and you really get that spinal extension now. Brad: Right, and using a firm chair with armrests like this is probably the best chair to use. Using the soft chair in the living room probably is not going to work so well. So, a really nice stretch, the ball really allows you to isolate which part of your back you want to loosen up. Having fun, Mike? Mike: Yeah, it works as a nice little fulcrum. Brad: There it is, nice. Let's, let's be done, and finish up here, Mike, these people got things to do. Mike: Okay. Brad: Okay, so I'm sure you found some stretches you like better than the other just by how they feel. I'd narrow it down to three. Give yourself a day break, go back to those three, and work on those. But then you need to give it a day just to make sure they have no residual after effects the next day. Mike: So, if the next day you are feeling good, no pain, no issues, you can certainly do those stretches again, and just continue to progress them as you tolerate. Brad: And you may want to do them two to three times per day, as long as they continue to feel good, they're going to help your posture and reach all of our goals. Mike: So if you want to check out another video on back pain, you can click the video link on the screen. It is " How to Fix Low Back Pain in 90 Seconds, Bob and Brad Concur! " Bob and Brad concur. Brad: It's a very popular video, and a lot of people have commented with good results. So, very good, let's carry on the day. Mike: I guess I concur with it, too. 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